Google announced that you can now edit your Google My Business listing directly from Google Search and Google Maps. Truth is, this is a feature Google kind of launched in 2017 but now Google improved the user interface and made some additional improvements.
Here is what it looks like now:
This is what it looked like in 2017:
I asked Greg Sterling, who wrote this up at Search Engine Land what changed and he got this statement from Google. Google told him "previously, merchants could update their Business Profile from Search but had to use Google My Business to access some of the other features. With these feature updates, we’re meeting merchants where they are and giving them the ability to view how their Business Profile appears to the public, update their presence, and connect with customers -- all in one place." Truth is, over the years, a lot of this you could update inline but here is what Google pointed out specifically is new or changed:
- The ability to update your listing not just on Search, but also on the Google Maps app (um, this was available in iOS as well as Android)
- A new Performance Page that lets merchants see their customer interactions directly in Search or Maps. (Previously merchants had to go to Google My Business to see this information.)
- A simplified menu on Search and Maps, with 3 sections: Edit your profile, Promote your business, and connect with Customers
- "Q&A" is now available in the main menu, giving merchants direct access to questions that customers have asked about their business. This feature also lets merchants post Frequently Asked Questions about their business themselves.
- 2 new ways to easily access your Business Profile on Search: first, by searching for the name of the business (no need to include your business' address in your search), and secondly, by searching for "my business." On the Maps app, there is a new item in the Account Menu called "Your Business Profile" which brings you directly to your Business Profile.
Anyway, I asked Mike Blumenthal and Krystal Taing - local SEO experts and they said, it is not new but updated:
That's correct. The feature is not new but it's being relaunched with more and improved capabilities.
— Krystal Taing (@krystal_taing) August 13, 2020
What @krystal_taing said plus more focused interface, better analytics and solid future “platform” for future enhancements.
— Mike Blumenthal (@mblumenthal) August 13, 2020
Yep, that's right :)
— Joy Hawkins (@JoyanneHawkins) August 13, 2020
Forum discussion at Twitter.
